Sunday, April 29, 2012

The Walters Art museum Ancient Egypt

Mummification preserved mortal remains in order to house the Ka, or life
force of the individual, as it needed to return to the body to find sustenance.
The human-shaped covering, called "cartonnage," is composed of layers of linen
and plaster. Its painted decoration includes the floral wreath on the wig, a
broad collar, and a winged scarab beetle. Five additional registers of
decoration show the protective four sons of Hours, the sacred boat of the
funerary-deity Sokar, a mummy of Osiris on a funerary bed, a divine falcon god,
and a short hieroglyphic text with an offering formula. See the additional media
for a facial reconstruction of the mummy, courtesy of Michael Brassell, as well
as a color reconstruction of the cartonnage.

The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon
neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection
was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters (1819–1894), who
began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American
Civil War. His private collection became one of the largest and most valuable in
the United States. And his son Henry Walters (1848–1931), who refined the
collection and rehoused it in a palazzo building on Charles Street which opened
in 1909. Upon his death, Henry Walters bequeathed the collection of over 22,000
works and the original Charles Street palazzo building to the city of Baltimore,
“for the benefit of the public.” The collection touches masterworks of ancient
Egypt, Greek sculpture and Roman sarcophagi, medieval ivories, illuminated
manuscripts, Renaissance bronzes, Old Master and 19th-century paintings, Chinese
ceramics and bronzes, and Art Deco jewelry.

Temple Relief of Nectanebo II ca. 350 BC (Late Period)

Once decorating the lower section of an interior temple wall, this relief
depicts gods carrying offering trays supporting cartouches bearing the name of
King Nectanebo II, and liquid and floral offerings. The deities bring the
agricultural wealth of the nome, or region, they represent in a procession. The
hieroglyphic texts praise the king and the god Onuris-Shu. Unlike the sunk
relief used on exterior walls, interior walls were decorated with raised
relief.

These two (together with Walters 22.100) well-preserved
painted relief sculptures originally belonged to a depiction of a procession of
gods, who represented the 42 nomes, or regions, of Egypt. They once decorated
the lower part of the southeast wall of the First Hall, containing eight
columns, within a temple dedicated to the god Osiris, built at Abydos by
Ramesses II. The lower portion of both figures remains in place in the Ramesses
temple, where they are exposed to the elements. The reliefs shown here, however,
have retained their vivid color. The deities bring offerings for the cult of
Osiris in Ramesses' name. Their faces follow the portrait style of Ramesses II,
with oval eyes, slightly hollowed eyelids, a small mouth, and a prominent,
beaked nose. Note the remains of the hieroglyph above each figure's head,
indicating that he or she is the personification of a region. The raised area of
these nome-signs retains red pigment. A portion of the abundant offerings the
male deity bears is preserved. His blue skin associates him with the forces of
creation. Original pigments also include yellow on the female deity's face, blue
on her wig, and light green on the plant stalks she holds in her right hand.

Relief Displaying the King Suckled by the Hathor-Cow ca. 1300-1200 BC (New
Kingdom)

A youthful king suckles at the udder of the mother-goddess Hathor, depicted
as a cow. His black flesh may indicate that he is deceased, this color being
associated with the underworld and the god Osiris; but the color black also
symbolizes fertility, renewal, and rebirth, and its use implies that the king
will be restored to life.

Mummy Mask of a Woman 50 BC-AD 50 (Greco-Roman)

Mummy masks of the Hellenistic and Roman periods often had gilded faces
that reflected the association of the deceased with the gods. This mask has been
molded over a core, with layers of mud and linen. The decoration was applied in
layers, with the gilding at the end. The eye inlays are made from glass, as well
as the blue scarab on the top of the head and the ibis inside of a pectoral on
the chest. The scarab has gilded wings which stretch down to the sides of the
wig. Above the forehead is a frieze of uraeus serpents with sun-disks on their
heads. At the right and left frontal ends of the wig are recumbent jackals. A
golden collar with five rows of rosettes and geometric patterns adorns the mask,
suspended from which two kneeling goddesses flank the pectoral with an ibis. The
goddesses may be identified as Isis and Nephthys, each with a sun-disk on her
head and a feather-fan in one hand. Mummy masks were used to protect and
idealize the facial features of the deceased. The golden face of this mask shows
no signs of age, gender, or emotions. The eyebrows, nose, mouth, chin, and ears
are very well modeled, but without color accents. The motif ensemble of the mask
symbolizes protection (uraeus serpents, jackals), general renewal
(scarab-beetle), and divine support to pass the court of death (Thoth-ibis,
goddesses) and to be renewed in the afterlife amongst the deities (reflected in
the golden color of the face).

Funerary Stele of Tembu ca. 1500-1470 BC (New Kingdom)

This round topped funerary stela of Tembu, is carved in very low relief and
brightly painted in red, yellow, blue, and black. The decoration comprises of
two registers of offering scenes and a register of inscription on the bottom.
The top depicts two Wadjit eyes flanking a shen-ring and water ripples with a
bowl. Below this Tembu is seated with his wife on a typical 18th-Dynasty double
chair. Under the chair and attached to it by a leash, is a pet monkey, holding a
mirror and a cosmetic vase, which is a typical feature of New Kingdom stelae.
The table in front of the couple holds loosely arranged offerings of bread,
beef, vegetables and lotus buds and two jugs on stands below the table. One of
the daughters of the couple stands in front of the large wine jar decorated with
a "nymphaea caerulea" and presents a bowl of wine to her parents. The middle
register depicts the rest of the family, including Tembu's sons Teti, Tetimose,
Teiy, and Ahmose, holding various flowers and two daughters Senetnefer and
Henut, holding flowers. Three of the sons wear short military kilts in
accordance with their titles, while the fourth son wears a long kilt and a
shirt. Between the daughters and the sons, is placed an extremely large jar
decorated with a lotus flower, and topped with a clay stopper.

Woman with Lotus ca. 2170-2020 BC (First Intermediate)

At the end of the Old Kingdom, the authority of the king and court had
eroded, and Egypt split into at least two distinct regions. Without a great
royal court to patronize workshops, artists and artisans worked for local
governors and officials. Lively regional styles developed, usually showing
elongated, fluid figures with features such as the hands, eyes, and ears
emphasized. Here, the inscriptions are an invocation to Anubis, god of embalming
and mummification, requesting funerary offerings of food and drink for the
deceased. This stela, carved in sunk relief, depicts a woman named Nefer-khabet.
She wears a long, narrow, tight-fitting garment, a long wig, a collar, an armlet
and a bracelet, and anklets. Her skin is painted pale yellow, her garment is
pale blue, and her various pieces of jewelry are painted a darker shade of blue.
She faces to the right and holds a blue lotus blossom with her left hand in
front of her face, while her right arm hangs down at her side. In front of her
is a short, small table heaped with offerings (two basins and two loaves, a
shoulder of meat, vegetables, and more loaves); beneath it are ewer and a basin.
More offerings (two baskets with food, four pottery jars on stands, loaves, and
bunches of onions) are placed to the right of this table. The offerings are
painted in red, yellow, and pale green, and are surrounded on three sides (all
except the bottom) by a thin black rectangular border. Three rows and one column
of inscription in blue are placed above her and to her right. Surrounding the
scene on three sides (except for the bottom) is a border consisting of pale
green, yellow, red, and black boxes, with an outline of black around them. The
stela is broken on all four sides, breaking off three areas (upper left, lower
left and right) of the colored-block border. The yellow, green, red, blue, and
brown colors are well preserved.

Sesostris III ca. 1850 BC (Middle Kingdom)

Usually the sculptures of kings and queens have youthful, confident,
contented, and even slightly smiling facial expressions. King Sesostris III
broke dramatically with this tradition, and his face shows signs of age,
concern, and discontent. He may have wished his sculptors to show him as the
shepherd of his people, heavily burdened by his care for their needs and the
duties of monarchy. Among the most important ancient Egyptian sculptures in the
collection, this statue is a classic representation of an Egyptian pharaoh. He
is shown wearing the nemes head cloth (worn only by Egypt's monarchs) with a
uraeus (protective serpent) at the brow, and a shendyit (pleated kilt). An
unusual feature of this king's sculpture is the amulet suspended from a
necklace.

Itj-ibj 1976-1911 BC (Middle Kingdom)

Discovered in the ancient necropolis, or burial ground, in Asyut in 1913,
the statue is inscribed on either side of the block-like seat with the offering
texts for Itj-ibj, a minor official, represented with a shoulder-length head
covering and wearing a shendyit, or pleated kilt. While early 12th Dynasty in
style, this impressive seated statue shows Itj-ibj in a classic pose copied from
Old Kingdom sculpture: hands balanced on his thighs, the left flat and the right
clenched in a fist, holding a folded cloth. Traces of red paint with white spots
remain on the fleshy areas of the sculpture, and it has been suggested that the
exposed parts of the body were painted to make the limestone resemble red
granite, a more costly stone.

Isis with Hours the Child ca. 680-640 BC (Late Period)

For the ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis was the model of the loyal wife
and mother, as well as a powerful magician. She was the wife of the god Osiris
and the mother of Hours. Just as the king of Egypt was associated with Hours in
life and Osiris in death, queens of Egypt were linked with Isis, and their
visual representations have similarities with the goddess. For example, both may
be depicted wearing the vulture headdress shown here. The crown composed of a
sun-disk and cow horns originally belonged to Hathor, but was assimilated by
Isis.

Upper Part of a Statue of a Man 4th century BC (Late Period-early
Greco-Roman)

Almost certainly a fragment of a life-size temple statue showing its owner
reverently kneeling before his god, this figure is quite rare, perhaps even
unique. The eyes and eyebrows were probably once inlaid with other materials,
enhancing the liveliness of the facial features. The shaved head may indicate
the owner's status as a cleric or high official.

Statue Group of Nen-kheft-ka and His Wife, Nefer-shemes ca. 2350 BC (Old
Kingdom)

Found in a rock-cut tomb at Deshasheh, located about seventy miles to the
south of modern Cairo, this pair statue of the mayor Nen-kheft-ka and his wife
Nefer-shemes exemplifies in the pose and relative scale of its subjects the
standard Egyptian artistic conventions for the representation of men and women.
Nen-kheft-ka strides forward with his left foot and holds his arms closely at
his sides, while his wife is depicted on a smaller scale and stands with her
feet together. Each statue was carved separately and altered prior to burial to
fit into a shared base.

Mummy Mask of a High Official ca. 2000-1980 BC (Middle Kingdom)

The use of a mummy mask is one of the most characteristic features of
ancient Egyptian burial customs. Such cartonnage masks covered the head and the
upper part of the chest of a mummy. Generally, they consist of layers of linen
and gypsum that could be molded to the shape of the deceased. Finally, each mask
was painted in bright colors. Because of their fragility, relatively few mummy
masks of the Middle Kingdom have survived in as good a state of preservation as
this one. The face is rendered in a formal, stylized way, giving it a somewhat
stiff expression. Even so, some details are indicated: the bristles of the full
beard, the mustache, and the eyebrows, all stippled in black over a blue ground.
The man wears a voluminous wig with long, rounded ends, which are neatly rimmed
with a decorative border. A broad collar composed of many rows of beads features
falcon-headed terminals, which are held in position by strings emerging from
under the wig on the mask's back. In addition, a simple necklace with a large
pearl completes his adornment. But most striking is the richly ornamented diadem
with a floral motif over the forehead. The model for this diadem was gold and
silver, inlaid with semiprecious stones like carnelian, lapis lazuli, and
turquoise. Although the original burial spot of the Walters' newly acquired
mummy mask is not known, its general style and details undoubtedly indicate that
it came from the necropolis at Asyut. At this important site, the capital of the
13th district of Upper Egypt, a French mission as well as the Egyptian nobleman
Sayed Khashaba Pascha conducted intensive archaeological excavations during the
early 20th century. Many rock-cut tombs belonging to the courtiers of the Asyut
nomarchs (the rulers of the nome) were found untouched and still contained their
original grave goods. This mask was probably discovered during the poorly
documented Khashaba excavation, which left no records about related objects
found in the tomb, including the coffin of the deceased with its inscriptions.
Without records of his titles and name, the identity of the owner of this mask
must remain a mystery.

Statue of a Man 664-600 BC (Late Period)

The artists of the Kushite rulers of the 25th Dynasty introduced a new
realism into royal art and sculpture and also revitalized private sculpture.
Kushite images had a broader cheek and stronger jaw, resulting in a more angular
face than had been seen before. When the 26th Dynasty supplanted the 25th, the
artistic center changed from the residence of the Kushite kings at Napata in
southern Nubia, to Sais in Egypt's Delta, home to the new ruling family. The
style also changed to a more idealized image with softer features. This early
26th Dynasty sculpture combines the angularity of the larger boned Kushite face
with the new idealizing style of the Saite Period, producing a strong and
polished image.

Kneeling Figure of Hor-wedja ca. 640-620 BC (Late Period)

Hor-wedja was the son of Vizier Sasobek, the highest-ranking official
during the reign of King Psammetichus I. Hor-wedja's son Meryptah commissioned
this temple sculpture for him. Hor-wedja kneels, presenting only himself to his
god. He abases himself in the deity's presence but keeps his head erect,
expressing respect and confidence. A hieroglyphic inscription gives the lineage
and titles of Hor-wedja running in a horizontal band around the base, in a line
across the top of the base and in a single vertical column on the back pillar.
Hor-wedja kneels upon a rectangular base and his toes are splayed out in an
unnatural way. He wears a belted shendyt kilt and a simple bag wig. The wide
width of the wig is common for the Saite Period. The orientation of the wig onto
the top of the back pillar is echoed in other sculptures from the 26th Dynasty
through the reign of Apries. As is characteristic for the Saite Period his image
is quite idealized. The body appears strong but the definition of the
musculature is subtle. A strong median line is visible. His hands are placed
flat upon his thighs and appear unusually plump. His facial features are also
typical for the Saite Period: long almond-shaped eyes with straight brows above,
long smooth cheeks, a long straight nose and a softly smiling mouth. The statue
is well preserved and the polish is only marred by a few minor nicks.

Relief with Winged Genius 883-859 BC (Neo-Assyrian)

This relief decorated the interior wall of the northwest palace of King
Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud, which is situated in present-day Iraq. With his
right hand, the genius (or benevolent spirit) uses a cone-shaped object to
sprinkle from his bucket some magic potion upon either a sacred tree or the king
depicted on the adjacent relief. The genius wears the horned crown of a deity
and the elegant jewelry and fringed cloak of contemporary courtiers.

About Me

I'm a antique dealer and Historical Folk artist. I created this blog to document and highlight my artwork along with my day to day life as a Artist, Antique dealer and collector. My favorite two periods in history are France's Ancien Régime, the time of French Queen Marie Antoinette 1770-1789 and the antebellum period of the American South 1830-1860. Both of theses periods ended tragically with war. I intend to explore furniture, architecture, decorative arts, culture, history, fashion and the people that made up these two fascinating periods in time. I recently moved back to my roots of Mobile, Alabama after living away for 17 years. Come and explore the restoration of my turn-of-the century Art's and crafts bungalow into a Antebellum show place.